Chaos Heir

Chapter 1541: Father

The teleport had been Liiza’s own technique, sending her far away, in a place Khan’s senses couldn’t reach, probably where her fight would happen.

Nevertheless, Liiza wasn’t gone. She would never be as long as the mental connection existed, and Khan closed his hand and eyes, focusing on that permanent channel.

The end was truly nigh. It didn’t get any closer than that, so Khan had to remember why he was fighting so hard.

It wasn’t about the nightmares anymore. They were gone forever. Khan had won that battle.

It wasn’t even about a lofty sense of duty. Khan might have completed the Nak’s mission, but he was no chosen one or fated champion, or, at least, he didn’t feel like one.

Sure, Khan wanted to save the regulated universe and its people, sparing them from the suffering he knew far too well.

However, there was something else at the core of Khan’s struggles, now more than ever. He was finally happy. He had obtained the life he wanted, which he wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.

Everything was about defending that life now, but not out of virtue of leadership positions. As much as Khan’s status increased, he knew his priorities. He was a husband before he was a noble. He was a father before he was a Lord.

And, to continue being a husband, see Yeza grow, and take care of her soon-to-be little brother, Khan had to defeat what awaited him ahead. Therefore, he reopened his eyes, turning to cross that last bit of condensed space.

With the first step, the distant mountain teleported, seemingly arriving in the current quadrant. With the second, Khan got even closer to that landmark, starting to spot details about its surface.

Once Khan took his third step, his figure exited the stratum of condensed space, putting him right before the mountain’s base. That structure towered far above him, its peak seemingly striving to pierce the very sky, but failing to attract his gaze.

That wasn’t due to lack of majesty. The mountain was truly immense, acting as a pillar that strived to connect ground and sky, but far greater things stood at its base, preventing Khan from looking anywhere else.

The Emperor was there, standing proudly with his red cape toward Khan, his arms crossed in challenge and preparation for what was about to unfold.

The black mountain also featured a giant, darker-than-black ellipse at its base, acting as another dimensional door that Khan’s senses’ best efforts couldn’t even attempt to pierce.

At last, two black figures rested before the ellipse, the long-haired one lazily sitting on the ground while the short-haired one stood sternly at his side.

Both black figures featured the Scarlet Eyes’ robes and fluttering capes. They also wielded proper white sclerae with red irises at their center, vouching for their status as Kings.

Yet, the evolved warriors’ foreheads displayed a difference that couldn’t go unnoticed. They wore the Kings’ iconic two horns, but a third one grew between them, highlighting something that their auras made undeniable.

Gauging an evolved warrior’s prowess through mere perception wasn’t an exact science. Still, a vast difference in power level could lead to quite accurate impressions.

Khan was far above the average evolved warrior. Even Kings were no match for him, and his hunches knew it. However, they conveyed a very different impression now.

The worry that the Scarlet Eyes’ army could have assets stronger than the Kings had turned out to be true, embodied by those two three-horned evolved warriors.

That wasn’t even the end. The two three-horned evolved warriors weren’t just stronger than the Scarlet Eyes’ Kings. They were existences Khan instinctively acknowledged as equals to himself and the Emperor.

The instinctive acknowledgement was far from rational, but Khan had long since learned to trust that sixth sense. It had only grown more reliable with time anyway, so he had to believe it, even if it meant accepting that existences at his level were mere underlings in the enemy’s army.

Still, that concerning finding didn’t lead to any hesitation. Khan stepped forward, reaching the Emperor’s side, joining him in his stern inspection of those two opponents, addressing that now obvious trend.

"Let me guess," Khan announced, relying on the Nak’s way of speaking. "To get to your God, we must defeat your first."

Khan didn’t really expect any answer. There was no point in those, either. He and the Emperor would fight anyone who stood in their way anyway.

Yet, that tease didn’t cause a reaction, making the sitting evolved warrior adjust himself and brush his long hair away to wear a mocking grin.

"[Our dear Father won’t waste time with beings weaker than us]," The long-haired alien said through an exhaled whisper that Khan and the Emperor’s brain instinctively translated.

"[Our Father tasked us to stop anyone from disturbing him]," The standing, short-haired alien added, speaking through a similar whisper. "[So, you won’t pass]."

Khan could argue that the True Chaos shouldn’t have led him and the Emperor there in the first place if the goal was to protect the God. Still, that clearly wasn’t the whole story, and those announcements featured curious details.

The Scarlet Eyes’ scouts and Kings referred to their leader as God. Khan had heard that with his own ears. However, those two three-horned evolved warriors called that being Father, as if to highlight their special status.

Nevertheless, even that didn’t matter. The two evolved aliens had basically confirmed that the True Chaos’ God was on the other side of that elliptical gate, and Khan had no time to waste.

"Which one do you want?" Khan wondered, still using the Nak’s way of speaking, but addressing the Emperor. "I like the sassy one."

"[Ah]!" The Emperor cried. "I want both!"

"I’m not leaving my pregnant wife to fight longer than necessary," Khan scolded, "And we need this challenge to decide which one of us gets to fight the God."

The Emperor didn’t forget about his deal, but he also didn’t want to miss that long-awaited opportunity. Luckily, one of his opponents made that decision for him.

"[Neither of you is worthy of challenging our Father]," The standing, short-haired alien claimed, making the Emperor smirk in response.

"You can take the other warrior, [Lord Blue Shaman]," The Emperor laughed loudly. "I’ll fight this one!"